Review: Terminator Salvation
by Matt Fox
May 12, 2009
Overview
Take control of John Connor and join the resistance against Skynet as you battle hordes of machines in post-apocalyptic 2018 Los Angeles. There's plenty of gameplay variety in easily one of the most impressive, yet short, games I've played on my phone yet. Amazing graphics and sounds coupled with an intriguing storyline that follows that of the upcoming summer blockbuster of the same name.
Features
The game is definitely loaded with tons of features and different options to keep things interesting. One is the character you get to play. Not only are you able to play as John Connor, but you also get to use Marcus Wright as well. Each character has their own abilities and weapons to mix things up. The game comes with four different options in the control menu so you can customize the virtual keyboard to your specific style of gameplay. An important option as the controls are one of the things lacking in this game. (See the "Bad" section for more information on the control layouts)
Not only do you get to fight all of the machines that will be featured on the film, but there has also been some exclusive models added specifically for the game only. Six different weapons to choose from and an option to play an unlockable game mode where you get to play the T-600...very cool. There is also a "hacking" mini-game that pops up every now and then when you need to rescue the prisoners or shut down the machines, etc.
Breakdown
The Good:
The graphics...wow! More than once I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the screen. Take for example this shot here where you're on the Golden Gate bridge. Incredibly impressive. Couple the visuals with the equally top notch sounds and music...really one of the best looking and sounding games the IPhone/IPod Touch has produced.
The variety of the gameplay here is also quite good. You get to play two different characters (three if you count the unlockable T-600), drive two different vehicles, and use a wide variety of weapons against multiple enemies. In this respect, you fell like you're getting your money's worth here.
The Bad:
It seems like I have this complaint ever time and this game is no different...the controls. The virtual keyboard just doesn't work very well. You get four different options to choose from, but each one has its own flaw accompanying it. For one, no inverted option is something that's missing for sure.
The main issue with the controls is they're slow. You can't turn around quick enough, you get stuck onto walls and hiding spots when you try to get on the move again, and you get yourself shot up a lot as you try and get head shots on the machines. The re-load option and switching between weapons just plan sucks. Bottom line: You're going to die a lot due to the controls.
The game is also really short. I beat the entire game on normal in a little under an hour, give or take. For ten bucks...I was disappointed with that. Especially because as you get toward the ending of the game it gets really good with the story and gameplay....and then it kind of just ends. I wanted to keep going and I couldn't...sigh.
Last is the lag...there's a lot of it. At times the game doesn't run very smoothly. I though it might be my phone, so I rebooted and even re-installed the game, but still had the same outcome. Ten years ago lag wasn't that big of a deal for me...nowadays, it's annoying as hell. I'm sure the next update will fix this as I'm sure this was rushed out so it would hit before the film. Still though, it does lag a lot and that deters from the gameplay.
